Biden Barred From Redirecting $1.4 Billion in Trump Wall Funds

The Biden administration can’t redirect $1.4 billion that Congress allocated for the construction of a wall at the Mexican border, a Trump-appointed federal judge said, handing a win to Texas in the state’s deepening feud with the federal government on immigration.

US District Judge Drew Tipton of the Southern District of Texas on Friday temporarily blocked the administration from spending the money on alternative border enforcement measure, holding that it can be spent only on a barrier system.

The US Homeland Security Department’s spending decisions “run afoul” of the Administrative Procedure Act, Tipton said, rejecting an argument from the federal government that it has spending discretion and that such decisions are exempt from review under the APA.

“The court concludes that the potential harms to plaintiffs outweigh any potential harms to the government,” Tipton wrote.

Two Lawsuits

After taking office in 2021, Biden ordered a pause on the construction of Trump’s border wall pending a review of a new border plan. The money was shifted to other border projects that were in various stages of completion, including environmental remediation, flood-control, and cleanup efforts.

The redirection of funds drew two lawsuits from Texas: one from the General Land Office, the other coming from the state and joined by Missouri. After the cases were consolidated, a district judge ruled against Texas, dismissing the claims. But in June 2023 that decision was reversed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which remanded the case to Tipton to consider Texas’ preliminary injunction motion.

In order to prevail at this stage, Texas had to show if the funds weren’t spend on additional border walls that it would incur unrecoverable costs, and that the barriers, if built, would result in fewer undocumented immigrants entering the country.

“Texas has done so,” Tipton said.

A declaration from Paul Enriquez, a US Customs and Border Patrol official, said the only wall being built is in two locations to close gaps in existing walls, Tipton wrote.

Texas’ win comes amid growing tensions with Biden at the border. The two sides are locked into several other legal battles, including a new Texas law authorizing state officials to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. That law is set to go into effect Wednesday pending a review from the US Supreme Court.

The cases are Gen. Land Off. of Texas v. Biden, S.D. Tex., No. 7:21-cv-00272, 3/8/24 and Missouri v. Biden, S.D. Tex., No. 7:21-cv-00420, 3/8/24.